The Trinamool-run Siliguri Municipal Corporation has instructed all Durga Puja committees to dismantle their respective puja pandals within a week of immersion.

The instruction aims to prevent water stagnation in the bamboo poles used to make pandals, as it is a major source of vector-borne diseases, including Dengue.

Mayor Gautam Deb and officials from different departments held a meeting on the precautionary actions required to curb vector-borne diseases in the civic area at the SMC office on Friday.

“We have instructed puja organisers to dismantle their pandals within a week of immersion to avoid accumulation of stagnant water in the bamboo poles used in the construction of pandals,” Deb told reporters after the meeting.

Aedes mosquitoes, vectors of the dengue virus, lay eggs on stagnant water. Artificial containers or buckets of water are common breeding sites for them.

According to the mayor, only 34 dengue cases have been detected within the civic area so far. However, due to the late monsoon this year, the threat of a dengue outbreak remains high from September to November. This has prompted the civic body to take preemptive measures.

“A team of 136 VCTs (vector control team) have been engaged to patrol different wards of SMC. They will check for waterlogging, conduct house-to-house surveys and identify vacant land or under-construction buildings with stagnant water. Our civic body teams are taking necessary steps to remove stored water and clear weeds from vacant plots. Such preventive steps will continue post the festive season,” Deb added.